Freedom of Information Law Policy

Policy Statement/Background:

The Freedom of Information Law ('FOIL'), Article 6 of the New York State Public Officer's Law (§84-90), grants the public the right to access, inspect or obtain copies of records maintained by state agencies (including SUNY and its campuses), unless those records or portions of them are exempt from disclosure under specific provision(s) of the law. The University administers FOIL following SUNY Policy Document 6601. 

Policy:

All requests for records must be submitted in writing to the University's Records Access Officer.

The Records Access Officer is responsible for acknowledging FOIL requests, coordinating with the appropriate record custodians to obtain the requested records, determining rights of access to the records under the law, communicating the decision and providing records to the requester. In the event access to records is denied, the Records Access Officer provides instructions to the requester for appealing the decision.

Record custodians are responsible for conducting a diligent search for the records requested in a timely manner and either providing the records to the Records Access Officer or informing the Records Access Officer that responsive records could not be located after a diligent search. Record custodians receiving a request for records directly from a requester must immediately forward it to the Records Access Officer for appropriate handling.

Definitions:

None

Contact:

Records Access Officer
291 Administration Building
Stony Brook, NY 11794-1308
Fax: (631) 632-2981
RecordsAccessOfficer@stonybrook.edu

Relevant Standards, Codes, Rules, Regulations, Statutes and Policies:

• NYS Public Officers Law: Article 6
• SUNY: Policy Document 6001 - Compliance with Freedom of Information Law (FOIL)
• Committee on Open Government Website